Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Dessert Intern Tempts Again

I'm no master baker, but the act of baking speaks deeply to my love of order. Follow the recipe, weigh out all the necessary ingredients, add them together and it will equal something tasty. It's like math. Delicious, delicious math.

I like cupcakes because they are portion-controlled by definition, and easier to frost. Plus, never underestimate the cute factor. But I can't eat a batch of cupcakes on my own. Well, I could, but the results would be digestively disastrous. So I tend to bake for others as well as myself. For two summers, I interned at Freescale Semiconductors, converting their documentation into fancy XML. After bringing in a few rounds of cookies and cupcakes, DITA, which traditionally stands for Darwin Information Typing Architecture (woo!), came to mean the Dessert Intern Tempts Again.

I may have moved from 9-to-5 cubicles to all-hours retail, but I'm still armed with baked goods. So far I've brought in a few dozen cupcakes, experimenting with marshmallows (on top, in the batter, added at the last minute, etc.) and keeping everyone motivated on those long Saturday sale shifts. Potential employers should note: not only am I highly qualified and a creative problem solver with an independent work ethic, I also bake a mean cupcake, and often. Call it bribery, but I call it team-building.

Lately, my cupcake concoctions have had one theme: marshmallows. Who doesn't like marshmallows? I've been trying to think of the best way to integrate them into cupcakes. I've dropped them on top of unbaked chocolate batter (see photo), and gently folded them into vanilla batter. Next up: added to mostly-baked cakes with a minute or two left on the oven. Look out, co-workers, I'm coming, and the chances are good that I'm bringing baked goods.